The present invention relates to a document scanning apparatus which is used in a device such as a digital compound machine for scanning documents.
Some types of this apparatus are provided with an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) scan function and a manual-feed scan function.
The ADF scan function uses an image sensor to scan documents placed in a document tray by feeding one document after another. This function is useful for scanning a series of sheets of paper. The manual-feed scan function allows a user to move an image sensor across a document placed on a document glass plane for scanning this document. The manual-feed scan function is convenient for scanning like a book document. A user can scan various types of documents by using proper scan functions appropriate for documents to be scan.
When a document scanning apparatus is provided with both the ADF scan function and the manual-feed scan function, these functions are performed for scanning documents as entirely different jobs. A user may successively scan documents by using the ADF scan function and the manual-feed scan function as a series of operations. In this case, separate jobs perform these operations. Scanned image data is managed differently.
There may be the case where a new series of documents is to be created by combining copied documents from a plurality of sheet documents with copied documents from a book document. A user needs to separately copy a series of sheet documents using the ADF scan function, copy the book document using the manual-feed scan function, and manually sort output copied documents.
When a copied book document is added after a copied sheet document, or vice versa, it is possible to eject copied documents in an intended order by arranging the order of documents to be copied, eliminating the need for manually rearranging the copied documents.
However, there may be the case where a plurality of copies is created without using a mechanical sorter. In this case, it is impossible to eject copied documents for eliminating the need to manually rearrange the copied documents even if the order of documents to be copied is arranged.
Incidentally, there is also a document scanning apparatus which is provided with either the ADF scan function or the manual-feed scan function only.
Such an apparatus causes no problem in using the ADF scan function and the manual-feed scan function according to needs. However, this apparatus switches between jobs according to a change in scan conditions such as a scan density. When a user successively scans documents by changing a scan condition, scan operations are performed as different jobs before and after the scan condition is changed. Further, scanned image data is managed differently.